The Liverpool vice-captain set up the former Saints star for the Reds' opener and was delighted to see him score.

"Adam has been brilliant for a number of weeks now," said Henderson. "He is getting his fitness back from that long injury spell he had out. He will be a big player for us this season so hopefully he will keep doing that.

"He gets us on the front foot well. You can fizz it into him and he will always take his touch forward, gets in behind their midfield and drives us on, which is very important.

"He is looking sharp. He did well with a bit of skill coming inside, I just showed myself for the bounce pass and it was a great finish. I thought he was brilliant all day."

Henderson crowned his own fine display by netting the winner and hopes the victory will kickstart Liverpool's campaign after a poor start.

"This can be a springboard for us," he said. "I think our performances can be better, but the three points were vital. This was all about the win.

"Obviously, we've missed a couple of big players and when they come back in after the internationals it will be a big boost for us.

"Hopefully there will be some big results coming up and we can kick on. We have a lot of quality in the group and things can change very quickly. I don't think we have been poor by any means this season.

"You look at Tottenham away, where we were very good, and we were very good at home to Everton.